All Volkswagen retail partners have signed an agreement for the new sales model for vehicles from the all-electric ID. family, the company announced.

Customers can switch seamlessly between online and offline channels and order direct from Volkswagen, while their preferred dealer remains their local contact. The dealer assumes the role of agent under the new model and receives a commission from Volkswagen for this service.

Under the new model, dealers assume the role of agent for selling cars to private customers and small commercial enterprises. They look after acquisition, sales consultation, organizing test drives, transaction processing, and vehicle handover in coordination with Volkswagen. The preferred dealer chosen by the customer at the beginning of the sales process receives the same commission and bonus as in showroom business, even if the vehicle is purchased online direct from Volkswagen. Volkswagen decides on the vehicle price, thus dispensing with complicated price negotiations.

Dealers can therefore count on calculable compensation regardless of whether the customer buys their vehicle online or in the showroom.

“All our partners are now 100% on board. Broad approval from our retail partners for the agency model is a strong signal for the future," Holger B. Santel, head of sales and marketing Germany, said in a statement. "From the customer’s perspective, Volkswagen and retail become one unit with the agency model. And this seamless, coordinated shopping experience at all touchpoints is exactly what our customers want.”

Volkswagen also takes responsibility for vehicle financing and bears the returns and residual value risk. 

The agency model also responds to growing customer demand to switch seamlessly between online and offline channels during the entire buying process. Subject to the customer’s consent, available data on the customer and their vehicle is used to communicate with them individually and consistently across all touchpoints.

“Thunder,” the new IT system, is being developed and will debut at dealers with the launch of the ID. family. The configuration process is being simplified.